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Despite significant improvements in the synthesis of nitrogen (N)-doped carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their versatile applications, there has always been a large difficulty in controlling the bonding configuration of N atoms within CNTs. In the current work, we report an effective chemical strategy to synthesize single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) with 100% of quaternary N via a chlorosulfonic acid(CSA) treatment. In this process, the pyridinic and pyrrolic groups were selectively and completely removed while retaining the quaternary N atoms. The presence of 2.04 at. % of quaternary N atoms within SWNTs was directly identified from a single sharp peak in the N 1s spectra of XPS, and indirectly supported by the downshift of C 1s peak in XPS, the upshift of G'-band in Raman spectroscopy, and the decrease of the work function from 5.46 to 4.59 eV. The doping effect of the quaternary N atoms on the macroscopic properties of SWNT fibers was verified by a large increase in the electrical conductivity from 0.63 to 2.17 MS/m. In perspective, our chemical approach can now be applied to synthesize carbon materials with controlled N functionalities for different applications.

In the fabrication of safe, but powerful lithium ion batteries (LIBs), graphene-related materials are being actively examined in order to meet the demand for applications such as electric vehicles and smart grids. However, most of this work has focused on liquid-phase exfoliated graphene and reduced graphene oxide. Herein, we demonstrate a simple, but effective route for significantly improving the electrochemical performance of currently available LIBs by coupling current collector with catalytically grown large-area graphene. When coating current collectors with large-area three-layered graphene, a reduction in the internal resistance (or effective electron transfer) between the current collector and active materials was observed. The graphene also protected the underlying collector from corrosion, greatly improving the power capability and cyclability of LIBs. The three-layered graphene provided the best electrochemical performance and corrosion resistance because of its high electrical conductivity and mechanical stability during the transfer process. We believe that our approach using interfacial graphene coating can be used with all kinds of electrochemical energy-storage systems, in which high corrosion resistance, electrical conductivity, and flexibility are critical.

In this study, the rapid synthesis of graphene via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a common and low-cost carbon source majorly composed of butane and propane, as the precursor is investigated. For the synthesis of high-quality graphene, the growth conditions are optimized by controlling CVD parameters such as growth time, temperature, gas amount, and flow rate. Thus, graphene is successfully obtained from LPG in a short time. This synthesis is 10 times faster than that the conventional synthesis using methane as the carbon source. In the X-ray photoelectron spectra, the rapidly grown graphene samples obtained from LPG show small S2p signals due to the presence of few tens ppm ethanethiol in commercial LPG. In addition, graphene is synthesized using a hydrogen and LPG mixture to investigate the quality of graphene. Both samples are characterized by their peak positions and full width at half maximum values of the G and 2D peaks in the Raman spectra and Dirac points in the electrical measurements. In particular, the Dirac points of the graphene sample obtained with a growth time of 1 min sample appear around −22 VG and the sample's mobility is about 1600 cm2/V⋅s.

Herein, we report a theoretical study of polymeric nanocomposites to provide physical insight into complex material systems in elastic regions. A self-consistent scheme is adopted to predict piezoresistive characteristics, and the effects of the interface and of tunneling on the effective piezoresistive and electrical properties of the nanocomposites are simulated. The overall piezoresistive sensitivity is predicted to be reduced when the lower interfacial resistivity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and the higher effective stiffness of nanocomposites are considered. In addition, thin film nanocomposites with various MWCNT weight percentages are manufactured and their electrical performance capabilities are measured to verify the predictive capability of the present simulation. From experimental tests, the nanocomposites show clear piezoresistive behaviors, exhibiting a percolation threshold at less than 0.5 wt% of the MWCNTs. Three sets of comparisons between the experimental data and the present predictions are conducted within an elastic range, and the resulting good correlations between them demonstrate the predictive capability of the present model.

In the last decades, carbon fibers with light weight and high strength have experienced the largely increased uses in various industrial applications. However, their expected uses in the automotive industry and building are largely limited because of their high production cost. Herein, we have demonstrated an effective method of making low cost carbon fibers via the melt spinning of petroleum-processing residue (pyrolyzed fuel oil, PFO)/lignin blends. Careful selection of tetrahydrofuran as the solvent to dissolve both PFO and lignin was made to optimize the miscible blend. The melt spinnable blend with a softening point of 260–280 °C exhibited good spinning ability at 280 °C. The plasticizing function of PFO allowed the highly cross linked lignin-based pitch to have high fluidity in the melt spinning process. Based on detailed TEM observations, the thermally treated fiber prepared at 2800 °C exhibited a shell–core structure, consisting of a highly crystalline surface from PFO and an amorphous disordered core from lignin. Such a crystalline surface structure gave rise to a high modulus value (up to 100 GPa) to the prepared carbon fibers.

It has become critically important to develop reliable method to transfer chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene from its growth substrate to the target substrate without leaving undesired polymer residues on the graphene surface. Here, we have found that for the two different transfer method – wet transfer using poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and dry transfer using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as support layer, the amount of polymer residues and other impurities left on the graphene surface varies depending on the solvent used to remove those polymers. The exposure of the graphenes to different organic solvents such as acetone and chloroform resulted in different amount of polymer residues and impurities present on the graphene surface, which impact the electronic structure of the transferred graphene. It was found that the graphene obtained using the dry transfer method and acetone as solvent with a 2D to G (I2D/IG) intensity ratio of 4.58 and a 2D peak full width-half maximum (FWHM) of 24.66, which was higher than that using the wet transfer method and chloroform as solvent. These results showed that graphene was less affected by the polymer residues and impurities or the dry transfer method rather than the wet transfer method. In addition, using acetone rather than chloroform as solvent in the dry transfer method led to less contaminated graphene.

Single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were treated with a HNO3/H2SO4 mixed solution to increase the number of narrow micropores. The mixed acid treatment increased the micropore volume from 0.13 to 0.35 mL g−1 as measured by N2 adsorption at 77 K. The micropore volume evaluated with CO2 adsorption at 273 K increased from 0.06 to 0.27 mL g−1. This remarkable micropore volume increase was ascribed to the formation of a highly packed and ordered SWCNT assembly with the acid treatment, which was confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The adsorption amount of supercritical H2 at 77 K under 5 MPa pressure increased twofold as a result of the acid treatment, while the supercritical CH4 adsorption amount at 303 K and 5 MPa pressure increased by 40%. These remarkable increases were caused by increased amount of narrow micropores as a result of the acid treatment.

N-alloyed activated carbon fibers (ACFs) were prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of pyridine on pitch-based ACF at 1023 K and 1273 K for 1 h. The N-alloyed ACFs were characterized by using the N2 adsorption at 77 K, CO2 adsorption at 273 K, elemental analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The nitrogen content increases as a result of the pyridine-CVD. XPS examination showed that the percent of quaternary nitrogens in nitrogen structures increases remarkably from 60 to 91% for CVD temperatures of 1023 and 1273 K, respectively. The effects of N-alloying on adsorption properties of ACFs for C2H5OH and H2O were examined at 303 K. Both N-alloyed ACFs have a larger fractional filling of C2H5OH molecules. The uptake pressure of the H2O adsorption branches of both N-alloyed ACFs shifts to a lower relative pressure, compared with that of pristine ACF. Furthermore, the ratios of the VH2O (saturated amount of H2O at P/P0=1) to W0N2 (pore volume determined by N2 adsorption at 77 K) of N-alloyed ACFs are much larger than that of pristine ACF.